Kalle

The Kalle system (pronounced: /ˈkɑː.leɪ/), is a prominent member system of the Independent Colonial Union (formerly the Allied Systems Agreement). Kalle is the most well known system in the Colonial Union, and the unofficial face of the Union to foreign bodies. The system is named for the terrestrial planet within itself (the 5th planet in the system) upon which the original colonists landed.

History

The Kalle system was first settled by colonists from the Original Home. When it was determined that no resupply or reinforcements were to be forthcoming, the Kallean colonists moved quickly to make sure they would have a step up once supplies ran out. Because of this, when the home world supplies were exhausted, the colonists still had a large cache of data detailing complex systems, such as agriculture, architecture, ore smelting, and many others. This data allowed the colonists to quickly move from a bronze age technology level to an iron age level.

Kallean society quickly progressed, aided significantly by the data salvaged from the colony ship. Despite rapid population expansion, residence stayed largely centralized. This was helped in part by a deeply rooted republic government setup. Social concerns were largely addressed, without government interventionism intruding on civilian lives. The Kallean military focused on primarily small, internal affairs, acting largely as a glorified police force. Eventually society reached the industrial age, discovering radio. For about 50 years after this, Kallean technology progressed, eventually reaching levels comparable to mid 20th century Terra.

At this point in time, Kallean research outposts began receiving radio broadcasts from unknown sources. The broadcasts were clearly artificial in nature, and once decoded were found to be audio transmissions in a foreign language. Researchers determined the broadcasts to be coming from a nearby planet, approximately 8 light years Kalle. The broadcasts were very early in nature, the received messages being some of the first sent after the foreign planet discovered radio. Local historians came forth with the information that the original colony ship that landed on Kalle was one of many, and theorized that this other planet may have been one of the other colonies. Seeking to establish contact, Kalle quickly began broadcasting messages at this planet, as well as creating early forms of their space program to explore their local area.

After 16 years of continuous broadcasting and space exploration, the foreign planet responded. The planet identified itself as Athaim, and slowly dialog began opening between the two planets (albeit with very high latency times). This continued for nearly twenty years, with each nation slowly analyzing and assimilating the information from the other. During this time, the Kallean space program continued in full swing. Under military supervision, and backed by decades of research and theoretical models, the Kallean government constructed its first FTL capable starship. Utilizing a method for warping spacetime around the ship in a local bubble, the ship was able to modify the speed of light within it's field of effect. This allowed the vessel to travel many multiples of c from an outside perspective, without violating and natural laws inside.

The ship was launched three years after initial construction, on a journey lasting three months. The expedition was to last six months, and then return to Kalle with Athaii dignitaries aboard. One year after launch, the ship returned as scheduled, bringing Athaii with it, and the news that Athaii scientists had examined the FTL drive and begun reverse engineering it, with the blessings of the Kallean government. For the first time in 40 years, Kalle and Athaim were linked. Diplomacy was formally opened between the two planets, and less than five years later, 3 more FTL capable ships had been constructed by Kalle, with 2 being constructed by Athaim. The two nations officially entered into an alliance, termed the Allied States Agreement.

As the Allied States Agreement progressed, Kalle and Athaim encountered three other planets (Feimne, Lepae and Ushaec) through intercepted radio frequencies, and quickly opened diplomatic communications and alliance ties with these nations, uplifting them into space-faring nations. Less than two centuries after the first Athaii radio signal had been received in Kalle, the Allied States Agreement now boasted five planetary systems of relative power. It was at this time that the ASA made contact with the Triumvirate, a foreign alliance between three other systems: Draull, Prorass and Ataenan. Pre-existing diplomatic ties between the Triumvirate, as well as an overarching distrust of an already existing FTL capable nation, caused diplomatic tensions between the ASA and the Triumvirate.

Less than a decade after contact between the two alliances, communications broke down and the Triumvirate launched preemptive attacks on Feimne. While technologically, the ASA was more advanced, the Triumvirate had a larger standing military force, and pushed back ASA forces from Feimne. The remaining systems of the ASA quickly entered into an unprecedented military expansion, designing ships and weapons based off of encountered Triumvirate design. With a larger industrial base, and more sophisticated component technology, the ASA quickly outpaced and outgunned the Triumvirate, forcing them from Feimne. Follow up assaults led to the subsequent surrender and occupation of Triumvirate planets by the ASA.

As time passed with former Triumvirate planets under the control of ASA members, social programs and military enforcements were enacted across the three Triumvirate worlds. Tensions and hostilities fell slowly, and eventually ASA military forces were withdrawn. 32 years later, Prorass petitioned for entry into the ASA, followed shortly by Draull and Ataenan. With the acceptance of these former enemies, the ASA became the Independent Colonial Union, with each system exercising legislative autonomy over it's own system, while military forces were controlled by an overarching joint republic. Two more planets were colonized by the ICU in the next twenty years (Enteteff and Oteth) bringing the total systems in the ICU to 10. Nearly 50 passed since that time, until the ICU made first contact with nations outside their local area.

Kallean Government

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Kallean senate breakdown by party

The Kallean government at the national level is a representative democracy. Representatives are elected by popular vote of the general population to a national senate seat. The seats are divided into districts determined by population boundaries. 350 seats exist in total: 348 standard seats and two senate leaders, the Majority Leader and Minority Leader.

National Senate

Senators are elected by the populace in groups of 70 seats every year, with a full rotation of elections being reached every 5 years. The Majority and Minority Leaders are re-selected at the beginning of each new senate every year, though they often remain the same senator for 5 to 10 years at a time. There is no limit on sequential terms permitted. Senators are responsible for enacting legislation affecting Kalle, and reviewing past legislation should it be brought into questioning through judicial processes.

The Majority Leader is nominated and elected by the members of the largest party currently presiding in the senate. In the event of two parties holding equal seats in the senate, both nominate a potential Leader and a communal vote is cast between the two combined parties. The Minority leader is elected in a similar manner, with a cumulative vote between all non-majority parties taking place for one nominee from each party. The two Leaders preside over Senate sessions, moderate discussion and mandate legislative procedure on a day to day basis. In addition to this, the Majority and Minority leaders cooperate to select the 5 representatives of Kalle to the Colonial Union. Both leaders are expected to co-operate and act in a non-partisan manner as much as possible. Because of their power over the operations of the Kallean senate, the Majority and Minority leaders are regarded as the de-facto heads of state for the Kallean System in Colonial Union matters.

Name

Abbr.

Ideology

Seats

Notes

Colonial PartyIndependent Colonial Union Party of Kalle

CUP

Exploration and establishment of diplomatic routes with extra-colonial nations

[A] Umbrella label for senators not affiliated with traditional parties

Local Government

At a local level, governance is divided by national district. Each district varies it's government type, but most follow a similar setup to the national senate. Districts further subdivide government through the municipal level, with cites, towns and villages operating under their own governance except where district or national laws exist.

Kallean Colonial Representatives

In addition to their oversight responsibilities to the Senate, the Majority and Minority leader work in concert to select the five representatives of Kalle to the Colonial Union. The representatives are selected from the senate, and can be rotated at the end of each election year. The selected senators are removed from their seats, and will be replaced by temporary appointments if they were removed in the middle of their 5 year term. If a representative is removed from the Colonial delegation, they return to their seat if it is occupied by a temporary appointment. Otherwise, they may run for senate again at the next viable election period.

System Layout

The Kalle System is a relatively tight knit cluster of 8 planets, all within 4 astronomical units of their primary star, Aillava. None of the planets within the system have moons. Aillava is a G-type main sequence star, similar to the primary star in the sol system. The latest available models place the star at just under 5 billion years old, with another 4 left on it's main sequence. The star itself is slightly larger and brighter than sol, resulting in an average habitable radius of 1.068 AU.

Inner Planets

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The inner planets. From left to right: Arteng, Afaff, Prene (sizes to scale, interplanetary distances not

The "Inner Planets" are the three rocky planets closest to Aillava. The planets were grouped together because of their commonality and location. All three planets share some form of spin-locking, are rocket planets devoid of native life, and are relatively close (less than 0.6 AU) to their primary system star.

Arteng

Arteng (0.3 AU from Aillava) is the closest planet to its primary star. It is a barren, spin-locked planet, with one side continuously facing the primary star. The light side is scorching hot, while the dark side is freezing cold. Asides from this, Arteng has no significant features or anomalies. The only habitation on the planet is a series of small research stations on the border of the light and dark sides.

Afaff

Afaff (0.4 AU from Aillava) is the smallest planet in the system at just 0.5% the mass of Old-Earth. Like Arteng, Afaff is a spin-locked planet, with one side continually facing the primary star. Afaff is orbited by a small cluster of Colonial Union Navy shipyards and monitoring stations.

Prene

Prene (0.6 AU from Aillava) is the third rocky planet in the system. Unlike its two siblings, Prene is resonant spin-locked. Prene rotates three times for every two orbits of Aillava. Prene does have a negligible atmosphere, which is mostly molecules blasted off the surface by solar radiation.

Central Planets

The "Central Planets" are the three non-gaseous planets in the system with reasonable atmospheres. They are also the planets closest to the habitable zone (two residing within this zone) of the system. The central planets are the most inhabited and explored planets in the Kalle system.

Pront

Pront (0.7 AU from Aillava) is the first of the three central planets. While very similar to Terra in size and gravity, the extreme high temperatures (reaching 800°+ Celsius) and dense atmosphere make long term habitation nearly impossible. The atmosphere itself is highly poisonous, consisting primarily of Methane and Ammonia. The surface contains various underground research facilities, but otherwise no long-term habitation. Surface operations are nearly impossible. There are several privately owned recreation facilities in orbit around the planet.

Kalle

Kalle (1.0 AU from Aillava) is the namesake of the system it resides in. Originally inhabited by colonists from the Original Home, Kalle grew into the unofficial capital of the Union after its actions in the Triumvirate War.

The planet itself is remarkably like Terra, in nearly all aspects. It has slightly over 1G of gravity, and a marginally thicker atmosphere, but the effect on the human body is negligible, at best. The majority of the planets landmass lies in the temperate equatorial region, with nearly all of the local inhabitants enjoying a warm, Mediterranean style climate. The orbital length of Kalle is slightly over one Terra year (381 Terran days, 578 local days) with each rotational period being a relatively brief 16 Terran hours.

The planet is surrounded by large amounts of space-based traffic and installations, as well as numerous Colonial Union Navy defense platforms and shipyards. Civilian and industrial infrastructure rings the planet, following strict regulations to avoid creating local hazards. Further out lies a network of military shipyards and defensive installations, both passive and active. Deep space monitoring stations scan local space as well acting as receiving and relay stations for probes further out. All of these aspects mean Kalle is perhaps one of the most heavily defended areas of the Union.

Klava

Klaya (1.4 AU from Aillava) is the last of the central planets. Though evidence points to it being formerly terrestrial (like Kalle) Klaya is currently a cold shell of what it formerly was. The planet maintains a small atmosphere, though too thin to support human respiration. Because of its close proximity to Kalle, and its (relatively) moderate climate, Klaya is the second most inhabited planet of the system. It contains numerous civilian residences both on and below the surface, as well as a handful of military monitoring stations and docks.

Gas Planets

The furthest two planets in the system are both gas-giant planets. Current system models predict that these gas-giants were essential in the formation of the system, shielding the inner planets from various debris that would turn the interior into a "shooting gallery". With the establishment of the Union, Ezesia and Ejemn because key resources for Helium-3 mining, and by extension, valuable military assets.

Ezesia

Ezesia (2.6 AU from Aillava) is the larger of the two giants, weighing in at near 200 times the mass of Kalle. Of this mass, nearly 90% is thought to be gas, with the other 10% being dust and rock. This represents a huge opportunity to mine the Helium-3 required to fuel the starships of the Colonial Union Navy. Ezesia has become a key military asset, its orbit filed with defense satellites, shipyards, docks, and permanent installations for housing all kinds of military personnel.

Ejemn

Ejemn (3.8 AU from Aillava) is the smaller of the two gas-giants, as well as the furthest planet from Aillava. The planet is significantly smaller than Ezesia, while still retaining more than enough Helium-3 to fuel a fleet of starships. Because of this, Ejemn has become a popular target of civilian industry, as civilian companies cannot extract resources from Ezesia. While lightly defended, the planet is orbited by various civilian installations for both mining and residence.